SPFBOX

SPFBOX? Am I speaking in gibberish? Nope! It stands for Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off 10.

It's been 7 years since I last entered the competition (I submitted Mind Behind the Mind the third year, in 2017). This year, I've offered up Dead As Dreams to be judged by the bloggers/vloggers!

So 300 enter, and only 1 survives. If you want to see the list of 300 entries and the current status of them all (links to reviews, which titles are cut, which titles are semi-finalists, etc), head on over to the official SPFBOX Phase 1 page. I can't thank Mark Lawrence (and all the bloggers who volunteer to read and review) enough for running this contest for so many years. It's a great way for people to see what's out there in indie fantasy book world!

If you're looking for a new fantasy to read, go through the list and take a look at the reviews. I've already added 12 books to my wish list!

This year, I've been assigned to Queen's Book Asylum. I'm pretty happy with where Dead As Dreams landed. The Queen (Timy) is highly organized, so I know exactly when to expect the possibility of my doom. XD There's also a resident demon, of course. My kind of place.

On Queen's Book Asylum, the 30 books they were assigned were divided between 6 reviewers. Dead As Dreams' initial fate is in the hands of Arina. She just cut 2 of her titles yesterday. Thankfully I was spared this time! Each reviewer typically picks one semi-finalist from their batch, and then all 6 try to read all the semi-finalists to pick a finalist.

Fingers crossed that Dead As Dreams makes it far! At the very least, the book will have a new review. =D

And good luck to my fellow competitors! I've been enjoying participating in the Facebook group with everyone this year.

Writing Update - June 2024

Why yes, it's that time of year again where I talk about how nothing has gone to plan, everything has blown up in my face, and my goals have been scrambled beyond recognition. XD

OK, OK... I'm being a tad dramatic. Honestly, while my plans have been lightly beaten, they're not as over whipped as they could be at this point. If you don't remember what my hopes for the year were back in January, go visit the post 2024 - Just Chill.

Without further ado, onto the updates.

2024 Publications

❦ Magic Morsel - Kindle Vella Episodes - I've finished writing and scheduling all the episodes for the first serial! A new episode goes live every Friday, with the last two episodes scheduled to be posted on Friday, August 16. So, if you've been intending to read it, pop on over to Kindle Vella and give it a go.

❦ Intricate Agony (Fortunes of Fate, 8) - No longer planned for 2024 (see details below).

❦ Leave No Dragon Stone Unturned (Magic Morsel, 1) - Working title for the revised first serial of Magic Morsel into a novel. Possible publication this year still to be determined.

2024 Writing Progress

❦ I added about 38,000 words to Magic Morsel to reach the end of the first serial, which clocks in at 73,967 words. Yay, words!

❦ Intricate Agony... I actually started drafting this in April and got 4,850 words written. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling the story. I have ideas aplenty, and I know how it will unfold, but I'm having issues with my main character. He's feeling like too much of a wet noodle. Plus the initial draft is insanely heavy on description, which is a departure from my usual style. I needed a break to let things settle and think things through, and I'll get back to it at a later date. This means there's no chance of publication this year, though. Sorry if you've been eagerly awaiting the next Fortunes of Fate story!

❦ What do you all think of Leave No Dragon Stone Unturned for the first Magic Morsel title? I like it, but I'm definitely biased. ;) I've started in on a read through of the scenes, making notes for my world bible and revision plans along the way. This is taking longer than expected. And as I note down some questions I need to answer about this world (at least to myself, even if it doesn't show up in this novel), I realize the fleshing out of details and answering questions before I dig into revisions might take a while, too. So, right now I'm not sure if it'll be published this year or next. I may also be taking August off to tend to kids and house, which will disrupt my plans as always.

❦ I've sent out 4 of my 8 planned newsletters, 3 of which had SHU-WPF Spotlights.

❦ Capricon in February was fun! Met up with a couple writer friends, relaxed, bought yet more dice... I'm hoping we can go again next year.

❦ Facebook Ads were pissing me off, so I'm taking a break from them. I'm planning to run one in July, though, as Dead As Dreams will be discounted. Actually, several of my titles will be discounted on Smashwords for the whole month of July. Check out the Summer/Winter Sale starting on July 1!

❦ Finally, I entered Dead As Dreams into the SPFBOX contest (Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off 10)! I'll have a more detailed update about that in my next blog post.

And that's my writing year so far! Trundling along, moving forward, making progress. All good things. I still wish I'd move faster, due to all the stories I want to write and release into the world, but I'm trying to remind myself not to be too hard on myself. Just chill, right?

Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off 2017

So, author Mark Lawrence does this awesome thing. An awesome thing that benefits indie fantasy writers.

What is this awesome thing? He organizes the Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off! (Also called SPFBO.)

This is the third year he's running it. Back in May, he posted a call to authors. He took 300 submissions of fantasy novels (first in series or stand alone). And the contest was filled in less than a week (which goes to show just how well the first two years went).

Luckily, I managed to submit Mind Behind the Mind (Trinity Torn, 1) to the contest. Now, there are a lot of great contenders out there, and the chances of Mind winning are beyond slim, but I figured I'd take a chance and at the very least come out the other end with a review. I considered posting about this sooner, but the official start date was July 1.

What's the contest all about? Well, 10 bloggers have graciously volunteered their time to judge the entries. Each blogger receives 30 titles. Out of those 30 titles, they narrow it down to their single, top title. And then all 10 bloggers read the top 10 books chosen to pick the winner!

Take a look at the Phase 1 post on Mark Lawrence's blog to see all of the titles and which blogs they were assigned to. You'll find Mind under the Fantasy Book Review list.

You can also find a compiled list of all of this year's entries on Goodreads! I've already added several titles to my To Be Read pile (I seriously need more time in a day).

And if you'd like to keep track of the reviews all in one handy place, you can do so HERE.

I wish all of the entrants good luck, and I also send out a great big thank you to Mark Lawrence and all of the bloggers who take the time to make the SPFBO as awesome as it is!